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Friday, March 30, 2012

The Sweater worthy of a parade

I can't even tell you how giddy I am about finally finishing this sweater. The fact that it FITS and, no modesty here, looks AWESOME, is just the icing on the 10 Layer Cake of Incredible.

My journey/whining about this sweater is well documented: started it back in November, had to restart it 3 times for reasons I won't bitch about (again) now, so it has been a learning process for sure. Basically I could have easily whipped off 4 quilts in the hours it took me to knit this thing. Then there is the little matter of cost....knitting is in no way a cheap hobby, and the yarn, buttons and shipping/border duty charges for the supplies for this were....brace yourself...about $180. Would I ever BUY myself a sweater for $180? Hellz NO! If I were to add up the hours spent in manual labour and add that to the cost, this would be a FIVE THOUSAND dollar sweater.

Good thing it looks like a million bucks :)

What do I love about this? Oh, so many things! First off, the pattern. It is called the Golden Wheat Cardigan, by Veera Valimaki. It was so well written (all the previous mess ups were entirely my bad). Sizing was perfect. Then there are all the little details. I love the asymmetrical shape, and the collar....

......the cute little "side seams" that are not seams at all, but stitched in along the body and sleeves......

.....and, this baby's got back!

While the pattern only calls for a few buttons at the top so it is always worn open, I opted to do buttonholes all the way down. I like that I can wear it closed on chilly days.

And I love the COLOR! The yarn was Madelinetosh Chunky in the candlewick colorway. So vibrant and warm. And so soft! Worth every penny.

The buttons. Dang, I love buttons, but these are perfect. I found them after a quick etsy search, at a shop called shop4craft based in Thailand. Great service!

I can basically go on and on about all the things I love about the final sweater. And I am so RELIEVED that after all that time and effort, I have something that I love to show for it. I didn't even block it because I had to put it on immediately. I plan to wear it every day until it is stinky and smelly, probably even longer. Then I will peel it off for a quick wash and wear it some more. Just call me the Lady in Yellow.

If you want to learn more, there are even more details and ramblings on my Ravelry page.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT! AND it looks great on you, AND I love the buttons (look like they were made for it), AND I love the seams down the sides. How did the whole changing reverse stockinette to stockinette work out (other than the issues at the beginning)?? I'm so glad it came out so nice!!

I'll play the tuba in the marching band that's part of the Amazing Sweater Parade! It's great to see the final results of all your hard work and to see how happy you are with your sweater. Love that colour on you!

It is incredibly incredible. I'm still kind of choking on the cost! I love the color, though, and I'm probably going to covet the idea of making this sweater for awhile. Also, I think adding buttons all the way down was definitely worth it. Even if you don't button all of them, it adds to the look.

You have encouraged me... I always seem to spend a bazillion dollars on yarn and spend all that time and then it doesn't fit right or the yarn pills horribly or something else is wrong. I have gotten really discouraged on sweater knitting... but I think I may work my way back up to it in a few months and just try to do a better job measuring my gauge and myself and picking the right size. Anyways, this looks gorgeous!! Hooray for an awesome looking and fitting handmade sweater!!

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